Medical devices are often used to drain fluids within a patient's body. For example, ureteral stents can be used to assist the drainage of fluids through the urinary system of a patient. Some known ureteral stents include a tubular member and are configured to assist the drainage of fluid from one part of the urinary system to another part of the urinary system. Some known ureteral stents are configured to extend from a patient's kidney to a patient's bladder. Such known ureteral stents assist to drain fluid from the patient's kidney to the patient's bladder.
Regions of the urinary system are particularly sensitive and are prone to irritation by foreign objects. Thus, to avoid patient irritation and pain, it may be advantageous to provide urinary stents that either avoid contact with the sensitive regions of the patient or otherwise provide a stent that does not irritate such sensitive regions. For example, one particularly sensitive region of the urinary system is the trigone region, which is located within the bladder of the patient. Thus, it may be advantageous to provide a urinary stent that either avoids contact with the trigone region or does not otherwise irritate the trigone region.
Additionally, some known urinary stents may be forced or pressured into the trigone region when the bladder is empty. For example, an empty bladder may collapse upon itself and force or pressure a urinary stent disposed within the patient into the trigone region of the patient causing irritation and/or pain and discomfort to the patient. Thus, it may be advantageous to provide a ureteral stent that distends the bladder or otherwise prevents the bladder from forcing or pressuring the ureteral stent into the trigone region of the patient.